One of Allah’s beautiful favors upon Darus-Salaam is watching our young people grow into service. Years after sitting in Al-Huda classrooms, memorizing Qur’an in our Hifzh School, or finding belonging in the Dar-usSalaam community, many of our alumni are now stepping into leadership roles of their own. They are serving as youth directors, Imams, masjid leaders, and student organizers, helping shape Muslim communities across the region and beyond.
Their paths are not all the same. Some lead from the minbar. Others organize programs, mentor students, or help build community on college campuses. But they share something important: a sense that leadership is not about status. It is about service, sincerity, and responsibility before Allah.
For Yaseen Muhammad, Al-Huda School Class of 2018, that service now takes shape at Prince George’s Muslim Association (PGMA) in Lanham, Maryland, where he serves as Assistant Director (in a volunteer capacity). His work includes communications, community engagement, and helping lead The Link, a weekly gathering for young adults and professionals. He traces much of that instinct back to the environment that shaped him. “Growing up in a practicing Muslim environment at Dar-us-Salaam and Al-Huda School was a major influence in my life,” he said. “Islam is a community based religion. I’ve always loved being in the masjid and believe we all, as Muslims, should be helping the masjid and our community in some way.” For Yaseen, leadership is not status.
“It’s not about having people serve you, but rather, knowing how to serve your people.”
— Yaseen Muhammad,
Al-Huda School Class of 2018.
That same spirit of service appears in Hayat Marso, a Dar-us-Salaam Hifzh graduate from the Class of 2011, who now serves as Imam / Religious Director of the Islamic Society of New River Valley in Blacksburg, Virginia. Much of his congregation consists of university students, so his work is shaped by the pressures young Muslims face on campus. Yet he said this was not the path he originally imagined. “I never imagined myself stepping into the role of Imam, SubhanAllah,” he reflected. After memorizing the Qur’an at Dar-us-Salaam, he had planned to continue focusing deeply on Qur’an, Qira’at, and Tajweed. But along the way, he absorbed a model of leadership rooted in humility.
“Being in the Dar-us-Salaam community really instilled in me the sense of humility in leadership,” he said. That now shapes the way he leads students, trying to remain approachable, patient, and present.
For Ameen Ahmed, an Al-Huda School alumni, leadership has become a means of guiding youth back toward belonging. Now serving as Youth Director at the Muslim Center of Greater Princeton in New Jersey, Ameen’s work includes youth programs, one-on-one mentorship, counseling, and helping young Muslims feel they are part of something larger than themselves. He said the Dar-us-Salaam community made Islamic knowledge attractive to him from a young age, and by around 14 he already knew he wanted to pursue that path more seriously. One of the strongest principles he shared is that youth work requires meeting people where they are. “In the Seerah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, Islamic rulings came down in stages,” he said.
“We need to call the youth to Allah first, and then gradually help them climb higher in their practice and understanding.”
— Ameen Ahmed,
Al-Huda School alumni
For Ameen, leadership is not only about having knowledge, but also about empathy and context, knowing how to guide people wisely
Then there is Rayn Ali, Al-Huda School Class of 2023, now serving as Vice President of the University of Maryland Muslim Student Association. Rayn moved from India to the United States in 2021 and joined Al-Huda for 11th and 12th grade before continuing on to UMD. That season of transition shaped him deeply.
“Joining Al-Huda School gave me a real sense of community and belonging during the major transition in my life,” he said. “I wanted to make sure no one else who enters a new environment feels like an outsider or an imposter.”
Today, he helps oversee one of the largest student organizations on campus, supporting events, committees, and Muslim student life at scale. Yet the heart of his work remains simple: helping Muslims, especially students, feel they have a home. “For me, leadership is all about community,” he said.
Taken together, these stories say something important about the work of Al-Huda School and Dar-us-Salaam. The effort to teach, nurture, guide, and build community does not end when a student graduates. By Allah’s permission, it continues to bear fruit years later in masajid, youth programs, MSAs, and Muslim organizations. These alumni are not only benefitting from the community that raised them. They are now helping raise others.
Alhamdulillah, this is one of the clearest signs that the seeds planted in our classrooms, musalla, and circles of learning are still growing. And by Allah’s favor, they are growing into leaders who help carry the Ummah.
